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Nile Cruises Luxor to Aswan: Routes, Boats and Prices
Classic Egypt Tours: Cairo, Luxor and Aswan Itineraries
Nile Cruise and Red Sea Holidays: Two-Week Egypt Trips
White Desert Tours from Cairo: Oases and Desert Camping
Short Breaks in Egypt: Three and Four Day Cairo Trips
Tailor-made Egypt Tours: Private Trips Built Around You
Cairo · Giza
The best things to do in Giza are the pyramids at opening, the Sphinx, and a long afternoon in the Grand Egyptian Museum. Add a day south at Saqqara and Dahshur if you can. That one day shows you how pyramid building began. The sound and light show and a camel ride are extras. Do them if you have time and want them. Below is what each one is like, how long to give it, and the order that works.
Giza is a big city on the west bank of the Nile, part of greater Cairo. The pyramid plateau sits at its desert edge. Most of what visitors come for lies on or near that edge.
Here is the short list. The three pyramids and the Sphinx. Going inside the Great Pyramid. The Grand Egyptian Museum, about two kilometres from the plateau. Saqqara and Dahshur, further south along the same desert edge. In the evening, the sound and light show or a rooftop dinner facing the pyramids.
Two days covers it well. Give one to the plateau and the museum, and one to Saqqara and Dahshur. With one day, do the plateau early and the museum in the afternoon, and accept that both will be rushed.
Go at opening or late in the afternoon. The coach groups and the heat both arrive in the middle of the day. From May to September the plateau is hard work by late morning, with no shade anywhere.
Allow three to four hours. Start at the panorama point for the classic view of all three pyramids. Then walk down past Menkaure's and Khafre's pyramids to the Great Pyramid. Finish at the Valley Temple and the Sphinx, heading downhill as the day warms up.
Bring more water than you think you need, a hat and closed shoes. Carry small notes for tips. Ticket and entrance arrangements on the plateau have changed several times in recent years. Confirm them at the ticket office on the day.
You can go inside the Great Pyramid on a separate ticket, on top of the plateau ticket. The ministry listed it at EGP 1,000 for a foreign adult when we checked in October 2026. The climb runs through the Grand Gallery to the King's Chamber, a bare granite room with Khufu's empty sarcophagus.
It is steep, stooped and warm. People with heart, breathing or knee trouble, or a fear of tight spaces, should skip it. Our full guide covers what you see in order, and the quieter pyramids you can enter near Cairo.
The Sphinx sits below the pyramids, beside the Valley Temple of Khafre. Visit both at the end of your walk. The lower entrance next to them, at Nazlet el-Samman, is also an easy place to be collected.
The terrace in front of the Sphinx is the most crowded spot on the plateau. Early or late in the day it is calmer. The Valley Temple is worth ten quiet minutes for its huge granite blocks, and most people walk straight past it.
The Grand Egyptian Museum is about two kilometres from the plateau. It holds the Tutankhamun galleries and the Khufu boat, which moved here from its old museum beside the Great Pyramid.
Give it three hours at least. Five or six suits anyone with a real interest. Tickets are sold online at tickets.gem.eg, with a timed entry slot. The galleries open from 9:00 to 18:00, and until 21:00 on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Last entry is an hour before closing.
Pairing the museum with the plateau on one day is common and tiring. If you have two days, put the museum on the second, when your legs are fresh.
Saqqara is about 30 kilometres south of central Cairo. Its Step Pyramid of Djoser is generally regarded as the earliest large stone building in the world. The tombs around it hold some of the best wall carving near Cairo.
Dahshur, further south, has Sneferu's two pyramids. The Bent Pyramid changes angle partway up. The Red Pyramid is entered from the north side, down a long, low passage. The ministry lists Dahshur as open 08:00 to 17:00. It is quiet, with few touts and few cars in the car park.
Seen in this order, Saqqara then Dahshur then Giza, the plateau becomes the end of a story. You need a driver, because there is no useful public transport between the sites. Memphis, the old capital, sits on the road below Saqqara and takes half an hour.
You will be offered camel rides, horse rides and quad bikes from the car park onwards. Some sellers are licensed and many are not. Never get on before the price and the length of the ride are agreed out loud.
The easier way is to arrange a ride through your guide or driver at a fixed rate. Every tour we sell with Cairo days includes a short camel ride at Giza, set up in advance.
On animal welfare, conditions vary. Some horses and camels are clearly in poor shape. Look at the animal before you agree, and walk away if you are not happy. Walking the plateau on foot works fine with good shoes and water.
The sound and light show lights the pyramids and the Sphinx after dark. The script is old and the narration is theatrical. Treat it as an hour of atmosphere and it holds up. It runs in several languages on a rotating schedule, so check which one is playing. Nights on the plateau are cold from November to February.
The other option is dinner on a rooftop along the approach road at Nazlet el-Samman. Several hotels and restaurants there face the pyramids and are popular at sunset. Beyond that strip there is little to walk to after dark. For a livelier evening, cross the river to Zamalek or Downtown.
We sell the tours of one Egyptian operator, Memphis Tours. Every set itinerary with Cairo days spends day 2 at Giza. You see the pyramids and the Sphinx in the morning, with the short camel ride, then lunch and the Grand Egyptian Museum in the afternoon. Going inside a pyramid is an extra ticket on all of them.
The Cairo Short Break, five days, starts from US$935 per person. Cairo and Luxor, five days, starts from US$1,480 per person. Only two longer tours give Saqqara and Dahshur a day of their own. The Grand Tour of Egypt, 16 days, starts from US$3,910 per person. Cairo, Luxor and a Nile cruise, 15 days, starts from US$3,985. To add Saqqara and Dahshur to a shorter trip, send us a request and we will build it in.
The Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx. The Great Pyramid, built for Khufu, was the tallest structure in the world for about 3,800 years. Giza is now also home to the Grand Egyptian Museum, about two kilometres from the plateau.
One full day covers the plateau and the Grand Egyptian Museum, but both feel rushed. Two days is better: one for the pyramids and the museum, one for Saqqara and Dahshur. Allow three to four hours for the plateau alone.
At opening, or late in the afternoon. The middle of the day brings the coach groups and the worst heat together. There is no shade on the plateau, so October to April is the comfortable season.
Yes, on a separate ticket bought on top of the plateau ticket. The ministry listed the Great Pyramid interior at EGP 1,000 for a foreign adult in October 2026. The passages are steep and tight, so skip it if you have heart, knee or breathing problems.
It is worth an hour if you have a free evening and want to see the pyramids lit at night. The script and staging are dated. Check which language is playing before you go, and take a warm layer in winter.
Yes, and most tours do. Do the plateau early, then give the museum the afternoon. The museum needs three hours at least. It stays open until 21:00 on Wednesdays and Saturdays, which gives you more time on those days.
Only with the price and length agreed first, ideally through your guide. Some animals are in poor condition, so look before you agree. The tours we sell include a short camel ride arranged in advance.
Read the current US State Department and UK FCDO travel advice for Egypt before you go. On the plateau, the everyday problem is persistent touts. Say no clearly, keep walking, and never take an item offered as a gift.
Entry rules, opening hours, security advice and exchange rates all move. Check them at the source, not here.
Written and checked by the Nile Trip Guide editorial team · Last reviewed . Entry rules, prices and opening hours change — check anything critical against the official sources linked on this page.
Plan this trip
A real itinerary with real prices, usually within 24 hours. Nothing is booked and nothing is charged until you say yes.
5 days · Short break
Five days in Cairo and nowhere else: Giza, the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Egyptian Museum, the Citadel, Coptic Cairo and Khan el-Khalili. Four nights in one hotel, and every sightseeing day run privately.
from US$935 / per person
5 days · Short break
Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then a flight south for one night in Luxor covering both banks, and a flight back. Five days, two cities, both domestic flights in the price and every day guided privately.
from US$1,480 / per person
16 days · Classic Egypt
Sixteen days and very little left out: Cairo, a flight to Aswan, three nights sailing down to Luxor, two more days of Luxor on land, three nights on the Red Sea, then back to Cairo for Saqqara and Dahshur.
from US$3,910 / per person
